Search

*Just so I don’t forget, for those of you who follow along on Facebook, I’m going to be taking a little hiatus and deactivating my account this weekend. (Doesn’t everybody just need a little break every now and then?) So please be sure you’re subscribed to the blog (click the button on the righthand side –>) so you won’t miss when we have new posts!

You probably won’t notice, but I titled today’s post as a direct wink to my last one, which happened to be ‘Finally Friday!’ (I’m so clever, right?) This week has flown by and in a good way because we’ve had some really good stuff going on! For starters, we got in a terrific date night where I left off last week- tried a new rustic German restaurant that totally hit the mark on all fronts, especially with their in-house cut charcuterie. O. M. G.

In even bigger news, Uncle Andy arrived last Saturday! Honestly, I’m not sure who was more excited- us or him!

See what I mean? Ha!

Waiting outside of Customs!

So let me back up and fill in any of you who don’t know who Uncle Andy is exactly. Well for starters, he’s not technically Neve’s uncle because he’s not technically mine or John’s brother. But he might as well be. You see, we met Andy in 2004 when John started working at SPAWAR in Charleston. I met him- and his girlfriend at the time (she was a troll, btw)- at the office Christmas party that year- and the group of us, along with several others, became fast friends. We formed a weekly trivia team (we won more times than not!), we boated every weekend, we ate food. After a few years, Andy ended up needing a place to live, so he moved in with us. What a fun few years we had all living under one roof! (John’s brother, Mark, even lived with us for part of that time, so it was especially good times!) And he wasn’t just family to John and me, but to our whole family. Holidays, celebrations, hard times…We were all family and still are to this day. Eventually, Andy decided to put down some roots and buy a house of his own- a mile down the street from us. A couple years later, Neve came along and it was love at first sight for she and her Uncle Andy. They’ve had their own special bond ever since. So yeah. Not sure whether I’d call him a brother or a best friend or just an integral part of our lives, but whatever he is, he’s family. ❤

Three weeks old…

The weather has been fantastic this week for the most part, other than one random day of snow. Yeah, mid march and we’re over here with snow! Ha!

Ummmm?

But other than that, we’ve been able to get out a good bit and soak it all in. We have a lovely park just up the hill from our house- it has three playgrounds, lots of walking paths among the vineyards and some great wide open spaces for the pups to let loose. And as of this week, it has flowers! Spring is coming, dammit!

We were so excited to introduce Andy to our friends. They’ve all heard so much about each other, that I just couldn’t wait for everyone to put faces with names. What better time and place for introductions that with our neighbor, Collins’, birthday at the best burger joint we’ve discovered in Stuttgart!? It was seriously the best night we’ve had in AGES. It was so easy and comfortable and FUN. John said that it felt so much like ‘home’ and he’s right- it really did. It’s amazing how quickly- and genuinely- people become YOUR people.

Not sure what we’d do without this group right here. Just so you know who you’re looking at, starting on the left…Abigail and Collins live next door to us on top of the shopping mall. They’re from the DC area by way of Minnesota and Camaroon. Their daughter, Amalie, is 2 1/2 and the sweetest little thing. She’s a firecracker like Neve. They’re due with Baby #2 in July. Matt and Emma live a train stop away also downtown and are from Summerville just like us, so not sure how we never crossed paths until we got all the way over here! Their girls, Emmie (6) and Ellie (1), are as different as night and day, but both just so awesome and Neve things they’re terrific. This tribe makes my heart happy.

Not much too picture worthy the rest of the week. We’ve just been exploring the city, visiting the bases, playing on playgrounds…Neve is absolutely adoring having Uncle Andy here. As you can see, he’s up for just about anything- human slide, playing with princesses, snuggling before naptime (although no one tops Daddy Snuggles 🙂 )…

And before I forget, I just want to share how insanely proud I am of my girl and her swim lessons! She can now jump- or be tossed!- into the deepish (5′) end without anyone in the water, bounce off the bottom and swim to the side! All by herself! Long story short, but we haven’t had the easiest go of learning to swim over the last 2 years (yes, that’s how long we’ve been trying to learn!), so to see her so comfortable and confident around the water is amazing. And she loves her teacher, Mr. Isaac. Like love loves him. He’s from Uganda and has been here for 2 years- and is phenomenal with kids. About a month ago, we were walking home from school and she started giggling and blushing and finally said, ‘Mom, I can’t wait to see Mr. Isaac today. He is SOOOOOO handsome like a prince!’ It was the most precious thing!

That’s about it from these parts! We are excited for the weekend just so we can all be together without pesky work or school getting in the way! Ha! We’re hoping to head south to Lake Constance to visit Affenberg Salem, aka Monkey Mountain. It’s a sanctuary for primates (and storks??) where you can roam freely with them on acres and acres. Sounds like a blast, right?! Best part, it’s supposed to be around 50F and partly sunny both days! I know, I know. Pretty bad when this southern girl is getting excited for weather descriptions like this!

And one last thing. My dear friend, Eleanor, had back surgery last week and has not had the best first week of recovery. If everyone could say a little prayer for her- we are sending the biggest hugs! Eleanor, Neve wanted to take this pictures just for you ‘so you would smile.’ ❤

4 Responses to “Already Friday!”

Well I feel like a Princess being mentioned in a Blog! Thank you my sweet, loving and caring friend. I am feeling so much better now. A week in the hospital was not what I had counted on, however, your messages to me during that time made each day better. The flowers are beyond gorgeous. The pictures of you and Neve are priceless, and it makes me smile to know Andy is with you now. I am sure that Andy and John have not stopped talking. Love you my dear friend and again thanks for being my friend!